


Sloth: Time Well Wasted

by SmolBeanDrabbles



Category: The Land of Steady Habits (2018)
Genre: A smidge of sex talk, F/M, sickly sweet cliche ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26665393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolBeanDrabbles/pseuds/SmolBeanDrabbles
Summary: You have “so much” to do and you just can’t seem to find the time to do it all. Most of the stuff you're stressing over is probably pretty inconsequential, but it matters to you! In an effort to help you relax and spend some quality time with you (it’s been a while!), Anders attempts to convince you to spend a lazy day with him.
Relationships: Anders Harris/Reader, Anders Hill/Reader, Anders/Reader





	Sloth: Time Well Wasted

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my 7 Deadly Sins / 7 Heavenly Virtues request challenge on Tumblr
> 
> I think this is the first one I ever posted from this request series...
> 
> Lyrics - Time Well Wasted by Brad Paisley

_I could’ve been workin’ overtime  
Or at home tryin’ to make that truck run right…  
  
Those leaves were a foot deep in the yard  
And ‘Wash Me’ was written all over the car  
But watchin’ movies all day with you  
Wasn’t on my list of things to do  
But we laid on that couch  
Boy, we never left the house  
  
It was time well wasted  
And there’s no way I trade a few more things that I could’ve crossed off my list  
For a day I’ll never forget  
No, I didn’t get a thing done  
But I sure soaked up every minute of the memory we were makin’  
And I count it all as time well wasted  
  
This world spins too fast if you’ll let it  
There’s always one more thing to do  
But looking back I have never regretted…  
Lovin’ away a Sunday afternoon…_

—

_noun_

  1. reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness



You couldn’t believe your luck. Or… _un-luck?_ You’d been out in town nearly two hours with a bunch of things to do both here and back home, and yet you hadn’t been able to cross off even one thing. You were also hating yourself for a bunch of promises you made that you were struggling to keep through no fault of your own. And in this bubble of frustration, stress and self-loathing, you also weren’t paying attention to your surroundings.  
Until he reached out and grabbed your hand-  
“—!!!?”  
“Y/N! Geez, are you okay? You look really-” Anders hesitated at the look on your face, “OK, what’s wrong? C'mere…” He enveloped you in a hug, and for 5 seconds you actually forgot what you were stressing so much about. Then you remembered you were in _the middle of town_ , and not at home with him. In _fact_ he just added to your stress, because then you were trying to remember exactly when the last time you had actually **done** something with him was…

“OH! **_GOD!_** I’m–!!!” You pressed your hands to your eyes and cried out in frustration. He let you. Of course he just let you, Anders was probably the easiest going man you’d ever dated. “I’m so sorry, I just-” You rooted through your pocket for your list, “I don’t even know anymore. But I’ve got all this stuff to do in town, my house is a mess, my yard, my car - oh, God, and I was gonna help Preston with—!! Man I just, it’s not working out and I just hate myself for it because… I promised him I’d-” Anders finally had to hold his hands up, because your ever-changing tracks of thought only served to confuse him.  
“Baby, Stop! **STOP**!!! Listen to yourself!!!” He took your list gently from you and unfolded it “…Do you really have to do all this right now? You sound far too stressed to concentrate on any one thing.”  
He was probably right, but still; “Yeah! When _else_ am I supposed to do it!?!”  
“There are 7 days in a week, y'know.”  
“I’ve gotta work!”  
“Oh, _uh huh_ \- because your 20-minute commute is such a chore.” He was teasing you, but right now it wasn’t helping.  
“Well, what with deadlines, I’ve got all kinds of overtime I’ve gotta work - or God knows what my team is gonna do - I don’t think they can do it alone!”  
He sighed, knowing nothing he said was going to help you. Anders pushed your list against your forehead; “Babe. I was kidding. Will you please give your brain 5 minutes?? Let me do this.”  
You didn’t understand how that was going to help anything, but before you opened your mouth, he pressed a finger to your lips “…UH! That wasn’t even _5 seconds_! I can do all this stuff - I’m retired remember? I’ll get all this stuff whilst you’re at work, just give me your house keys and I can return _those_ to you at work too. See? I am a utilizable resource! And Preston isn’t gonna care if it takes you all year! He’s in a good place.”

It wasn’t that you didn’t appreciate his offer to help, but you didn’t want to end up relying on him. And you thought he’d done enough, especially if he used to work in finance. You kinda liked that he was retired; your work schedule could be all over the place sometimes, which meant Anders would still be able to see you literally any time you were free. Only, again, you reminded yourself you hadn’t made time for him in maybe 2 or 3 weeks. And that meant you certainly didn’t want him doing things for you, if you couldn’t even make 5 minutes for him. _Geez_ , that only made you feel more terrible. And you could read on his face that his line about Preston was unconvincing at best.  
He removed his finger from your lips thinking that you’d probably not argue; then had to promptly regret it and roll his eyes as you started again,  
“Anders, I can’t let you do that! _I gotta do this_ - _!_ I mean when was the last time we actually did anything-!? I’m such a **_terrible girlfriend_** , my god! I just-! No, I gotta do this, and today!! Because tomorrow I’ve got to do a bunch of admin and finance…” Your eyes suddenly went wide at the prospect, you weren’t good at math. You **HATED** math, of any kind.  
He folded his arms, “Well, you see. All I heard there was an excellent point.”  
“Huh!?”  
“We haven’t done anything in a while. I _want_ to do this. So… How about we do something today, and then I can do this for you? Also, what are you worried about anything financial for!?” He indicated to himself “Hello-! You are literally dating the perfect man. I got you on _that_ too; then whatever you gotta do at home, or with your car, do tomorrow and I’ve got your admin covered. Cuz if I don’t make that promise, you’re just gonna stress even more.”  
You kinda thought Anders was perfect for other reasons, but he was also right. He could help there too, but you shook your head “No, no! I don’t deserve you doing that for me even… I just-!”  
“Hey-! Hey-! You got this all wrong, it wasn’t a choice.” He took your hand in his “If there’s one thing I know I can do, it’s get rid of that stress. And don’t you **_dare_** protest, let me do this for you!”

So, begrudgingly you didn’t, as he pulled you gently to his car. “Wait, where are we going?”  
“Home. Well, my place - home - Yeah.” He smiled, “What you need most right now is to do nothing. And the last place you need to be is anywhere that will stress you out. So, you can come do nothing with me, at my place. I gotta look after you; what kind of man would I be if I didn’t?” Anders made you smile. He cared so much, he was like this normally, but you could usually reciprocate. And right now you couldn’t, because you couldn’t give him anything in return.   
But then you started to cry, and it wasn’t just because of the stress, but because all he wanted was your time. He didn’t want to do anything with you, he just wanted to look after you. And as long as you went with him you were giving him that.  
Anders took your hand in his again and rubbed your thigh gently, and he didn’t ask you not to cry. “It’s okay… Let it all out, just, _It’s okay_ …” His voice was gentle too. And for a minute you wondered what exactly you’d ever done to deserve him.  
  
**

You’d just about stopped crying by the time he’d driven you to his place, and he let you finish before he turned to you. You were aware you were now a mess, looking down at your now tear stained shirt. Your make-up had probably run everywhere; you didn’t dare look.  
“Do you want…” He decided it was better not to ask, but to softly tell you; “Take a shower, freshen up, get comfortable. I’ll get set up, okay?”  
You just nodded meekly and he handed his house keys to you “Go on…”

By the time you were in the shower you’d heard the front door open and close again, and his car leave the driveway. What exactly did he have planned? This was the interesting thing about Anders, because it could be _literally anything_. Just when you thought you had him figured out, he’d surprise you with something else…  
The shower allowed you to breathe. Standing under the water and trying to clear your head and look at the positives. Anders must have at least been positive 1-10 right now.  
  
You wandered into his bedroom and were greeted with a glass of water and a note on his bedside table.  
_“Crying is exhausting… re-hydrate! :)”_ You smiled, and sipped the glass slowly, opening his wardrobe. That’s what he meant by get comfortable, **_right_** ** _?_** Well, even if he didn’t, Anders always wore things that made you want to cuddle him, and a lot of times on dates you actually got annoyed that there was a table between you. And he knew that, which allowed him to tease you about it; constantly.  
But it was hard to think of a time when you wouldn’t be seen with your arms wound tightly around him. Sometimes you felt he needed that as much as you did.

Anders' car was back in the driveway so you knew he was home again as you made your way back down stairs. He was standing in the kitchen; pile of movies, 12 pack of beer, takeout menus.  
He looked up as you entered and laughed, “Yeah ok, I guess that constitutes getting comfortable.” He indicated to the selection “Pick a film, we’ll order whatever you want. I’m gonna make you dinner, but **THAT** is a surprise.”  
You leant on the counter and smiled, he’d put together a selection of your favourite movies. And how could you possibly choose just _one_? You reordered them and looked to all the takeout menus. Then back to the beer – with a tiny smirk. You pushed one towards him.  
“I’m pretty sure we have time for more than one movie.”  
“ _Oh?_ ” He took the leaflet and crossed to the phone, “A movie and pizza date? Girl, I like the way you think.”  
You gave a soft wink and took the movies into the lounge to queue the first one up “I know-!”  
“—You don’t want to tell me what you want!?!”  
“You know me well enough–! This was your idea!”

You were sat with your legs crossed on the couch watching him. Not the movie. But him. You ate about as slow as possible and sipped your beer, leaning on your hand. Anders was at least a little absorbed in what was going on on TV, by the fact he hadn’t yet noticed that you weren’t watching. Every so often he’d react to something in a scene and it just made you smile more. You knew nearly every single movie off by heart, so you knew you weren’t missing out on much. But, you’d sure be missing this if you were paying attention.  
“…What did I do to deserve you?” You didn’t know how it slipped out but it did, and it wasn’t a murmur because he turned to you;  
“What?”  
Suddenly you blushed, and looked to your legs “I- I just- I _don’t_ …”  
He furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion “Are you not even watching this?!”  
You shook your head “I guess I’m watching you…”  
That just made him giggle **_“Me!?”_** He slid across the couch to you and tilted your chin up to meet his eyes again; “Now c’mon, really, what is so interesting about me?”  
A small smile crossed your face and you took his hand delicately in yours “That you love me, the way you love me.” You tilted your head, knowing you were about to gush over him if you weren’t careful “…I just… I’m **_SO_** in love.”  
That just made him laugh shyly again; “…Clearly love is blind, and _you_ can’t handle more than a few sips of beer.”  
“Shut up!!” You gripped his hand tighter “You’re doing this for ME!! Anders that’s—! You’re incredible.”  
He shook his head, still laughing; “No. This is what any good boyfriend **_should_** be doing. Now c’mere, I’M supposed to be the sappy one! What is wrong with you…!?” He pulled you closer to him and stretched out across the couch, “Now, _hush,_ and watch the movie!”

“Ok…” You sighed contently as Anders lay back, allowing you to tangle your legs with his and lay your head on his chest. He crossed his arms over your back and shifted his body to help keep you comfortable. Every so often he would rub gentle circles into your lower back – and you could feel yourself truly begin to unwind just lying here in his arms.  
You could hear his heart beating; calm, steady, relaxing. It made you snuggle further into him; who were you kidding though? Anders and his clothes were made for snuggling, that’s exactly why you were wearing one of his jumpers for yourself. He was always so warm, and his personality reflected that. He ran a hand tenderly through your hair and you hummed gently in contentment, making him smile. You _felt_ more relaxed, which is what he wanted. This was ideal. It wasn’t just what you needed, but exactly what he wanted…  
  
**  
  
You must have both fallen asleep, because the next thing you noticed was the film was back at the menu screen. Your eyes flicked to the clock. It had also probably been stuck on the screen for a long ass time. You were surprised the TV hadn’t gone into standby mode, you weren’t about to move now, though. You closed your eyes again with a smile and allowed yourself to be carried back into dreams by the rhythm of his breathing…

The next time you woke up you were greeted by some kind of cookery programme. Making you raise an eyebrow – _What?_  
You shifted from your curled-up position on his chest and stretched gently. Anders still had one arm draped around you, and the other lazily behind his head. He was concentrating very hard on the screen.  
“What… **_are_** they making?!”  
_“NO!”_ He moved his hand to cover your eyes _**“SPOILERS!”**_  
“Oh my god!!” You laughed “What are _YOU_ going to make!”  
“You’re supposed to still be asleep!!!” He laughed, pausing the programme, “No!! Tell me you didn’t watch any of that?!”  
“I have no idea what was just going on. I’ve just woken up…!” You giggled and removed his hand from your face rolling onto your stomach to look at him; “Besides, like I said I’d rather watch you…”  
Anders shook his head, but he was still smiling. “ _Whatever_ …” He touched his nose to yours gently “How are you feeling?”  
“Better. Thank you.”  
He kissed you softly, “See now, that’s all I wanna hear.”  
That just made you giggle and kiss him again. “Okay, well, I think that’s all you’re _gonna_ hear for the rest of the day…”

Anders made a satisfied humming noise before kissing you again, and there was only one way that was going to turn out. You wrapped your arms around his neck and gradually deepened the kiss as he pulled your body even closer to his if that was possible. Sighing lightly against your kiss as you ran your hands into his hair. Not only was he great at snuggling with, he was always a great kisser too. Who were you really **kidding**!? He was just great at everything you _needed_. Anders was everything you needed to be with at this stage in your life, and if you were honest with yourself, he’d probably not come into your life early enough. But he was here now. And you were _supposed_ to make the most of every moment like this you had. You almost laughed into the kiss; that list and all your problems seemed really dumb right now…  
Suddenly, from nowhere, your stomach rumbled. And you weren’t even hungry – or were you? It was loud enough to make Anders break the kiss with a chuckle; “ ** _AH_** - ** _!_** Okay! It’s certainly time to make dinner then!”  
He sat you up, but you pouted; “ _Awww!_ Already!?”  
“Come help me out then,” He kissed the tip of your nose gently and slid you off his lap before standing; “come on, it’ll be fun!”  
“I dunno…” You looked at him teasingly “Cooking sounds stressful!”  
“ _Uh_ – quite the opposite!” He held his hand out “C’mon! It’ll be fun – I promise! Then I can show you what I’ve been learning in class!”  
“You got this from class?” Your eyes flicked curiously to the TV.  
“Yeah-! That’s all- Will you just come with me!?”  
You smiled and took his hand; “If you insist—!”

He handed you another beer and you set about measuring ingredients and listening to every little thing he said. Whilst also sliding in a joke about how it was meant to be _cooking with wine_ and not beer. And Anders being quick witted enough to tell you it would depend on what you were making.  
As it was, there was no alcohol involved in the dish itself. It sounded fantastically complicated, but Anders guided you through it as best he could. Until it **did** get complicated and you had to duck out – now sitting on his kitchen counter, lazily swinging your legs and drinking beer but still watching him. And he still gave you a running commentary of what he was doing.  
“So it’s pasta?”  
“No–!” He nudged your arm gently “Don’t dismiss it like that.”  
“Well, we just _made_ pasta from scratch right.”  
“Well yeah, but,” Anders shook his head at you “it’s not **_JUST_** pasta.”  
“Did we go overboard on Italian today then or?”  
He gave a shrug and crossed to his sound system “That’s not a bad thing.” He turned it on and the room was suddenly filled with music, you couldn’t help but smirk. You knew this playlist.  
“This is not that dumb thing Preston and I put together is it?!”  
“ _Yeaaaahhhh-_!” He grinned over at you “I like it!”  
“OH! It’s so dumb!!!” You covered your face. _“SO DUMB!!”_ Of course Anders would like it though – Preston and yourself connected on music as much as you argued over it. And you’d both vowed that one could make a better playlist than the other. When what you realised you’d done was make a similar set of songs, Anders had taken that and mashed it together. Declaring that it was now a playlist made of the best music by his two favourite people.  
“Does that matter? You guys put it together!” He smiled and came back to his cooking;  
“This really doesn’t scream romantic dinner date to me…”  
“Who said anything about a romantic dinner date?” He gave a knowing smile “I didn’t say that, I just said I was making dinner! Half of this is your favourite songs anyway. So, you gotta find it good or relaxing, right?”  
“You did NOT put this on for me!”  
He smiled; “You made it. So yeah, I did.” He leant over to kiss your cheek gently “Besides-! I don’t see what you’re complaining about it’s great!”  
“–!!!” You laughed, jogging his shoulder, “No, **YOU** think it’s great!”  
He opened his mouth to counteract your argument when the doorbell rang. You folded your arms for a second; well this was a pretty uncivilized hour–!  
Anders turned his attention back to his cooking; “Would you get that for me please, darling?”  
You raised an eyebrow, _was he serious?!_ , it was dinner time! When he didn’t look back to you, you assumed he was and slid off the counter walking to the front door.

“PRESTON-!! OH MY GOD!”  
He gave you a massive grin and a warm hug, “Hey, Y/N! I hear dinner’s on dad tonight!”  
You raised an eyebrow, and suddenly it clicked, you looked back to the kitchen and then to him; “Did he invite you!?”  
“Well, yeah…!” Preston laughed, “He _also_ said you were super stressed out and needed cheering up, so I brought you something…!”  
“…WHAT!?” For one, you couldn’t believe Anders would tell his son that. However, it was also sweet that he had invited Preston over because you two got on like a house on fire. But also, it was incredibly kind of Preston to do anything for you, when the stress was pretty self-induced.  
He held out a CD, “Here. Some **good** music to destress to-” Then he stopped and listened, “OH-! GOD! Has Dad put on that god-awful playlist we made!?”  
You laughed at the look on his face, “Oh yeah.” But took the CD with thanks. You could imagine what was on it. It probably wasn’t relaxing in the slightest, but you knew it would make you laugh.  
“DAD, WHY—!”  
Anders laughed from the kitchen “Because I like it!”  
Preston rolled his eyes as you let him into the house; “Oh! I also got you a bottle of your favourite, because Gill still gives me staff discount, happy days!”  
You shook your head “You’ve just ruined that one then haven’t you.”  
“Uh-! C’mon! Is it not the thought that counts- _DAD!_ Can we turn this off!?”  
“NO!”  
Preston turned back to you with a shake of his head, making you laugh. You had a lot to thank him for, in fact he was basically responsible for the current state of your life. You didn’t think you were ever supposed to meet the father of the 20-something (but basically going on teen with the way he sometimes acted around you) you worked with. But it was the best happy accident that had ever occurred. And you were pretty certain that all three of you might agree on that.

“SO what are we making?”  
Anders shook his head, “It’s a surprise.”  
“Oh, I guess I’ll go sit down then!” Preston walked through into the next room “ _C’MON-!_ You guys! Do I have to set the table too–!? I came for dinner as a guest, you know?” But you heard him laughing and opening draws anyway, allowing you to turn back to his father.  
“Did you invite him?”  
“Of course I did. He cares about you too! Besides, I didn’t want you to get bored of me…”  
You placed your hands on your hips but smiled, “I could never get bored of you. But,” You turned to the doorway Preston had just walked through, “that’s sweet of you. Thank you.”  
“No problem!” Anders turned the bottle towards him with a whistle, “That’s good stuff!”  
“He’s done well.”  
“That he has. New music too! Would ya look at that-!”  
“YEAH-! Please don’t have sex to that CD, I don’t think I can take that thought.” Preston called from the back room.  
“Damn-! Well there goes **my** evening plans!”  
“Oh my GOD, you two!!” You covered your face with your hands and felt yourself go red, but both of them were howling with laughter, which was contagious. You knew why you got on with them so well, because essentially - whether he wanted to hear it or not - Preston was almost a carbon copy of his father.  
  
**

You sat at dinner watching them both talking, at how animated they got – how they both laughed at each other’s stupid jokes, would light up at great ideas and how they’d encourage you to join in. They were just so darn similar… It was something truly beautiful to behold.  
You laughed until your stomach, sides, and face ached. And still they gave you exactly the same look and were convinced that you weren’t cheered up enough yet. Eventually you had to basically beg them to stop with tears in your eyes;  
“OH-! NO! She’s CRYING!!”  
“STOP IT—!” You could barely manage real words between laughs. You couldn’t thank them both enough though; all your stress from this morning had melted away. You accepted to yourself that Anders was going to help you, and when you confessed to Preston you hadn’t yet got anywhere with the project he so desperately wanted to work on, he gave a shrug and brushed it off – because he knew you’d get around to it eventually. Both of them were too nice to you for their own good, and bless them for believing you deserved it.

**

“See you guys soon – yeah!? Well, Y/N I guess I’ll see you at work!”  
“See ya, Preston!” You and Anders waved him off from the front porch as he opened his car door;  
“AND I WAS SERIOUS ABOUT THAT PLAYLIST!!” Making you both chuckle as he waved enthusiastically, pulling off from the drive way.  
“…Well. I figured I just _completely_ saved your day.” Anders folded his arms triumphantly  
“Saved my day?” You turned to him with a gentle sparkle in your eyes “ _Saved me_. Baby, you saved _me_.”  
“Aw, now c’mon…” He looked a little bashful “You didn’t need savin’, just, cheering up.” He held his fingers apart an inch “And even then… just a little.”  
“Will you stop?” You wound your arms around his waist, “you **_saved_** me.”  
“Alright…” He hushed his voice “I’ll take the credit you’re so eager to give me.” He tipped his head towards the stairs “Now, about that evening?”  
You gave a gentle shrug, “I’m alright with just… cuddling… If you-”  
“Done.” He removed your arms from around him and swept you up, causing you to giggle as he carried you upstairs.

You continued giggling as Anders tipped you gently down on the bed, then took a step back and placed his hands on his hips to admire you for just a second. The way you were still laughing. That, compared to how you looked this morning, you’d improved by miles. It choked him up even just a little that he’d helped be the cause of that.  
You propped yourself up on your elbow, still grinning “Are you joining me or what?!”  
“Yeah… I just…” His smile grew “I’m just admiring my handiwork!”  
You looked at him quizzically, then caught on “ _Oh-!_ Yeah. Well. You know me, I’m a hot mess when I get stressed!”  
Anders tipped his head “Well. You’re certainly hot.” He sat, looking amused at the way your face was clearly asking him to shut up, “I agree, you can be a mess… But you’re _MY_ hot mess.” He lay next to you and pulled you closer to him; taking one of your hands in his. “Tell me you do actually feel better?”  
“I do.”  
“Okay. And tell me you won’t stress over finance tomorrow? I gotcha covered. It’s as good as DONE. Alright?”  
“I know.” And you did. He might have wanted to get out of finance but, when you couldn’t number crunch, Anders was only too happy to help you out.  
“Good.” Hand still in his, Anders touched his index finger to the tip of your nose again, making you relapse into giggles, “So you’re _also_ not gonna stress about this list, yeah? When you’re back in work on Tuesday I’ll be only **too** happy to wander around town for you… and don’t THINK for one second I won’t be checking in with Preston to make sure you’re _not_ stressing.”  
“Anders!” You smiled “I KNOW!”  
“Well. I’m making sure, and you didn’t promise!”  
“I promise-!! Just don’t come up with any of your good decorating ideas again, please..!”  
“I thought you LIKED my decorating!”  
“… Oh-! Did I say that??! _Did I ever_ …?!”  
He laughed “Alright I get it!!” He let your hand go so you could pull yourself close and snuggle back into his chest, allowing him to wrap his arms around you protectively. “The last thing I want is any more stress, ok?”  
“Okay…” You lay there for a few minutes, him stroking a hand through your hair, both preoccupied with your own thoughts. But true to your word you weren’t stressing about any of it. 

Eventually you yawned. “Aha-! Yeah I guess it’s pretty late..!” Anders looked across to the clock “But, we don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow but yours? Right?”  
“Mmm hmm…” His voice faded in and out as you cuddled closer to him, you were already drifting off. Anders turned the alarm off and twisted back to you. He could quite happily do this all day, every day, for the rest of his life.  
He smiled to himself and kissed your forehead gently. “I love ya, Y/N…”  
You smiled, “Anders, I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! :)


End file.
